Apparatus for making cigarettes



June 28, 1966 G. DEARSLEY 3,257,883

APPARATUS FOR MAKING CIGARETTES Original Filed July 23, 1959' 11Sheets-Sheet 1 103 //0 [14 INVENTOR 10? GEORGE DEARSLEY ATTORNEY June28, 1966 e. DEARSLEY 3,257,883

APPARATUS FOR MAKING CIGARETTES Original Filed July 23, 1959 llSheets-Sheet 2 FIG .3

INVENTOR GEORGE DEARSLEY BYW ATTORNEY June 28, 1966 D sL 3,257,883

APPARATUS FOR MAKING CIGARETTES Griginal Filed July 23, 1959 llSheets-Sheet 3 Kill Ill]

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INVENTOR GEORGE DEARSLEY ATTO R N EY June 28, 1966 a. DEARSLEY 3,257,883

APPARATUS FOR MAKING CIGARETTES Original Filed July 23, 1959 I llSheets-Sheet 4 INVENTOR GEORGE DEARSLEY ATTORNEY June 28, 1966 e.DEARSLEY 3,257,883

APPARATUS FOR MAKING CIGARET'IES Original Filed July 23, 1959 llSheets-Sheet 5 fad C9] 9] /09 130 79 Z2 Z9 FIG.9 Kg

INVENTOR GEORGE DEARSLEY ATTORNEY June 28, 1966 G. DEARSLEY 3,257,383

APPARATUS FOR MAKING CIGARETTES Original Filed July 23, 1959 v 11Sheets-Sheet 6 FIG. IO

INVENTOR GEORGE DEARSLEY ATTORNEY June 28, 1966 a. DEARSLEY 3,257,333

APPARATUS FOR MAKING GIGARE'I'TES Original Filed July 23, 1959 v 11Sheets-Sheet 7 FIG. I2

INVENTOR GEORGE DEARSLEY ATTORNEY June 28, 1966 a. DEARSLEY 3,

APPARATUS FOR MAKING CIGARETTES Original Filed July 23, 1959 7 llSheets-Sheet 8 FIG. l4

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INVENTOR GEORGE DEARSLEY WfL ATTORNEY June 28, 1966 G. DEARSLEYAPPARATUS FOR MAKING CIGARETTES l1 Sheets-Sheet 9 Original Filed July23, 1959 FIG.I8

INVENTOR GEORGE DEARSLEY BY ATTORNEY June 28, 1966 ca. DEARSLEYAPPARATUS FOR MAKING CIGARETTES Original Filed July 23, 1959 llSheets-Sheet l0 FIG.I9

INVENTOR ATTORNEY GEORGE DEARSLEY BY June 28, 1966 e. DEARSLEY 3,257,883

APPARATUS FOR MAKING GIGARETTES Original Filed July 25, 1959 v 11Sheets-Sheet 11 FIG.2|

INVENTOR GEORGE DEARSLEY ATTORNEY 3,257,883 APPARATUS FOR MAKINGCIGARETTES George Dearsley, Richmond, Va., assignor to American Machine& Foundry Company, a corporation of New Jersey Continuation ofapplication Ser. No. 829,007, July 23, 1959. This application Oct. 14,1963, Ser. No. 316,795 Claims. (Cl. 83-102) This is a continuingapplication based on my divisional application, Serial Number 829,007,filed July 23, 1959, now abandoned, which divisional application wasbased on my original application, Serial Number 509,293, filed May 18,1955, now Patent 3,036,581, issued May 29, 1962.

This invention relates to a machine and method for supplying and cuttingfilter plugs for use in mouthpiece cigarette making machines, andparticularly to that type of machine and method which will allow thelength of mouthpiece cut to be adjusted as desired.

The length of cigarettes and mouthpieces produced by differentmanufacturers may vary, depending on the publics preferences. Sincethese may also change from time to time, the length popular at oneparticular time may have to be altered at another. The purpose of thepresent invention is to provide a mouthpiece cigarette making machinewhich will enable cigarettes having one length of mouthpiece material tobe manufactured at one time and cigarettes having another length ofmouthpiece material to be made at another time.

Another object of the invention is to provide a machine havingpositionally fixed rotating plug cutting knives, and adjustable stopsand guide means for varying the relative position of the filter plugmaterial with relation to the knives, so that predetermined plug lengthsmay be cut thereby.

Still another object of the invention is to provide im proved means forsevering multiple plugs so that they will be of the uniform size.

A further object of the invention is to provide an adjustable filter tipsupplying and cutting device which is adaptable for mounting on variousmakes of cigarette making machines.

Yet another object of the invention is to provide an adjustable filtertip attachment which is capable of operating as rapidly as aconventional cigarette making machine and which will not necessitatesetting up filter tip supplying and cutting machines in separate floorspace or require the rearrangement or reorganization of cigarette makingprocedure in a cigarette manufacturing plant to adapt itself to themanufacture of filter tip cigarettes having the length of mouthpiecematerial desired.

Other objects and features of the invention will become apparent as thedescription of the particular physical embodiment, selected toillustrate the invention, progresses.

In the accompanying drawings, which form part of this specification,like characters of reference have been applied to corresponding partsthroughout the several views which make up the drawings.

FIG. 1 is a side elevation, partly in section, illustrating thecomponent parts of the cigarette filter tip mechanism.

FIG. 2 is an end elevation, taken on line 22, of FIG. 1, illustrating aportion of the hopper, the plug receiving drum in conjunction with thecutting mechanism and the plug separating drums.

FIG. 3 is an end elevation, taken on line 33 of FIG. 1, showing the plugaligning drum.

FIG. 4 is an end elevation of the plug separating drums taken on line 44of FIG. 2.

FIG. 5 is a plan view partially in section taken on line 5-5 of FIG. 1,illustrating a portion of the cigarette carrier drum in conjunction withthe cigarette infeed and separting mechanism at the cigarette infeedstation.

United States Patent 0 3,257,883 Patented June 28, 1966 ice FIG. 6 is anenlarged side elevation, partly in section, of the cigarette filter plugassembly station illustrating a portion of the cigarette carrier drum inconjunction with the tip material carrying suction drum and cuttingmechamsm.

FIG. 7 is an end elevation of the tip material carrying suction drum,taken on line 77 of FIG. 6.

FIG. 8 is a partial sectional and elevation of a peripheral portion ofthe suction drum, taken on line 88 of FIG. 6.

FIG. 9 is a partial sectional end elevation of a peripheral portion ofthe suction drum, taken on line 99 of FIG. 6.

FIG. 10 is a partial end elevation of the cigarette carrier drum at thecigarette filter plug assembly station taken on line 1010 of FIG. 6.

FIG. 11 is a partial sectional end elevation of a peripheral portion ofthe carrier drum in conjunction with the cigarette guiding means, takenon line 1111 of FIG. 6.

FIG. 12 is an end elevation of the cigarette cutting drum in conjunctionwith its separating means. at the cigarette delivery station, taken online 1212 of FIG. 1.

FIG. 13 is a sectional side elevation of a sextuple length hollowmouthpiece filter plug.

FIGURE 14 is a sectional side elevation showing how a sextuple lengthhollow mouthpiece filter plug is severed into three double length hollowmouthpiece filter plugs.

FIG. 15 is a sectional side elevation illustrating how a double lengthhollow mouthpiece filter plug is placed between two cigarettes andassembled by means of a cork band.

FIG. 16 is a sectional side elevation of a single cigarette with ahollow mouthpiece filter tip.

FIG. 17 is an end elevation illustrating a single drum coacting with aconcave for pre-rolling filter plugs.

FIG. 18 is an end elevation illustrating a plurality of oppositelyrotating drums for pre-rolling filter plugs.

FIG. 19 is a side elevation illustrating a cigarette reversing mechanismat the delivery station of the filter tip machine.

FIG. 20 is a plan view of the same.

FIG. 21 shows another embodiment of an apparatus for separating andsubdividing multiple lengths of rod shaped articles into equalsubdivisions.

My filter tip attaching machine is adapted to be secured to the end of acigarette making machine where the finished cigarettes F are dischargedfrom the cut-off and spacing belt, such as that shown in U.S. Patent2,247,413 issued to R. E. Rundell on July 1, 1941. Since the presentfilter tip attachment is capable of operating at the rate of 1,000cigarettes per minute, or at a still higher, or lower speed if thatshould be desired, which are the approximate speeds of conventionalcigarette machines in use today, there is no need for a manufacturer tobuy new cigarette making machines to make filter tip cigarettes.

My cigarette mouthpiece attaching apparatus consists of a mouthpiecehopper 10 into which a supply of sextuple lengths of mouthpieces areplaced. Mouthpiece material is commonly purchased in sextuple lengths tofacilitate handling. The embodiment of the mouthpiece cutting andalign-ing apparatus shown in FIGURE 1 consists of the inclined floorplate 12 of the hopper and the slanted side gate 14 which are agitatedor oscillated by means of a suitable vibrator. In this embodiment thisis accomplished by the cam roller 16 engaging with the hexagonalrotating cam 18. FIG. 21 described hereinafter shows another means foroscillating the slanted side gate 14. The agitator floor plate 12 has aspring mounting 20 at one end which perimts the plate to be readilyagitated when the filter tip attachment is operated.

The seXtuple lengths of cigarette plugs 11 roll downwardly out throughthe space between the lower end of oscillating gate 14 and agitatorfloor plate 12 into the reservoir 22 made up of a side wall 24, a plugreceiving and conveying drum 26 and the refuser wheel 28 (FIG. 1). Theplug receiving and conveying drum 26 rotates in the direction indicatedby the arrow and has plug receiving grooves 30 cut transversely acrossthe periphery of the drum 26. As the drum 26 rotates and the grooves 30pass under the reservoir 22 holding the sextuple lengths of filter plugs11, an individual sextuple length of cigarette filter will fall underthe action of gravity into each of the grooves or pockets 30.

In the event that two or more sextuple lengths of filter plug materialpartially fall into the same groove the rotating refuser Wheel 28 pushesback the excess, so that only one sextuple length of filter plug isallowed to remain in each pocket 30 when it passes under the stationary,spaced retaining wall 32.

The refuser wheel 28 is so constructed that the teeth on the refuserwheel 28 rotate in timed relationship with the flutes or pockets 30. Insuch relative angular position, a moving face is always present toremove any excess filter plug which would otherwise jam against a filteralready nested in grooves 30 of drum 26.

Suitable flexible side guides 33 and 33a are provided for plowing overand urging each sextuple length of filter plug material up against theadjustable stop plates 31 and (FIG. 2). The stationary guide members 31and 35 may be moved in or out independently by means of a suitable screwadjustment 25 and 27 which can be set during the operation of themachine. By adjusting members 31 and 35, the lengths of the doublelength of filter plug material that is severed can be readilycontrolled.

It will be appreciated that while flexible side guides 33 and 33a haveboth been shown on one side of the device and the adjustable stop plates31 and 35 on the other side thereof, these may be alternately positionedon either side of the device if required, without departing from thespirit of the invention.

As the drum 26 rotates in the direction indicated by the arrow, 21 firstrotating disc knife 34, extending through a suitable slot (not shown)formed in the retaining walls 32 and into an annular groove 37 formed inthe drum 26, severs a double length from the sextuple length of filterplug material as it passes between the flexible side guide 33 and theguide head 31.

As the plug receiving and cutting drum 26 continues its rotation, itbrings the filter plug material between the flexible guide 33a and asecond adjustable guide member 35. The flexible guide 33a urges thefilter tip material up against the guide member 35.

It will further be appreciated that the plug may be positioned in theproper relationship against the stops 31 and 35 relative to the lowerknife in a number of other Ways, as for example, by mechanical plowing,by blowing, or timed hammer action, etc., (not shown).

By measuring from one end of the material in this manner, the spaceoccupied by the knife when severing is automatically compensated becausethe first duplex length is severed to the desired length irrespective ofknife thickness after which the two portions of the initial length threesections produced can be readily changed to accommodate a differentsex-tuple length than was previously used with the machine. When a pairof knives are mounted to cut through a plug simultaneously it isimpossible to vary the length of the center sections without relocatingthe cutting knives and changing the posi tion of the annular grooves 37and 39.

In other words, in this invention, I relocate the plug material prior toeach cutting operation, rather than change the spacing of the cuttingknives. As a consequence it is easy to accommodate sextuple length plugsof various lengths for cutting into three equal duplex lengths. Thesecond cutting knife 36 similarly extends through another groove or slot(not shown) formed in the retaining walls 32 and into an annular groove39 of the drum 26. As mentioned, this knife 36 severs the quadruplelength of filter tip material into two double length filter plugs as itpasses between the side guide 33a and the other guide head 35.

As the drum 26 continues its rotation, the double lengths of filter tipmaterial are held in the grooves 30 by means of the retaining plate 32until they are brought above the pockets of the plug separating drums38, 40 and 42 shown in FIGURES 1 and 2 which rotate in the directionindicated by the arrow, as shown in FIGURE 1.

The double length filter plugs 41 are stripped from the cutting drum 26by means of extensions 44, 46 and 48 of the double length retainingguide walls 50, 52 and 54, in the same manner as described in mycopending parent application S.N. 509,293 filed May 18, 1959. As thedouble lengths of filter plug travel on the plug separating drums 38, 40and 42, they are circumferentially separated from one another by each ofthe plug separating drums 38, 40 and 42 rotating at a slightly higherrate of speed than its adjacent drum.

As a consequence when the three double lengths of cigarette plugs havepassed from station A where they are all in axial alignment to transferstation B they will have all been moved out of axial alignment with eachother due to the fact that the plugs advanced and carried by drum 38rotate at a slower speed than the plugs supported in drums 40 and 42.The drum 40, rotates at a slower speed than drum 42 and, therefore, itwill have advanced its double length plug a smaller distance than thedrum 42.

In this manner the three double length filter plugs have beencircumferentially spaced with respect to each other so that by the timethey reach station B only one double length filter plug at a time willbe stripped from its respective separating drum 38, 4t) and 42 into agroove of a plug aligning drum 56 (FIGURES 1 and 3) which rotates in thedirection indicated by the arrow. This stripping action is effected bythe strippers 58, 60 and 62 which extend into suitable grooves 43, 45and 47 formed in the plug separating drums 38, 40 and 42.

As a consequence one double length filter plug is discharged into eachof the pockets 64 of the plug aligning drum 56. As the plug aligningdrum 56 carries the individual double length filter plugs around with itthe double length filter plugs are held in their pockets by a suitableguide wall 66. As the double length filter plugs continue their rotationwith the pockets 64, the ends of the double length filter plugs 41 comeinto engagement with the spaced plug aligning cams 68 and 70.

As the drum 56 continues its rotation in the direction indicated by thearrow, the double length filter plugs, because of their engagement withthe aligning cams 68 and 70, are moved axially along the length of theirrespective pockets 64, so that by the time they reach station C they areall in the same position aligned in a row in side-by-side spacedrelationship, as shown in FIG. 3. The plugs are then discharged bystripper and guide bar into suitable roller receiving pockets formed onthe periphery of the assembly drum 72 in between two lengths of cutcigarette rod. Each pocket is made of three pivoted rollers, a shortroller 76 on either side and longer inside roller 74.

Th cut lengths of cigarette rod received from the cigarette makingmachine are spaced axially by suitable means such as speedup roller 49in a manner similar to that disclosed in US. Patent 2,124,397 granted toG. W. Gwinn et al. on July 19, 1938. A pair of suitable rubber rollers80, shown in FIGURES 1 and 5, spaced from a stationary table bed 82 slowdown the linear travel of the lengths of cigarette rod by engagingtherewith. Suction is applied to the table 82 by means of a suction head84 through which tobacco particles are withdrawn.

A kicker plate 281 is reciprocated in the direction indicated by thearrow by means of the crank 88 to push a pair of cut cigarette lengths Ffrom between the retard- 'mg rollers 80 and the supporting table 82 intothe pockets formed by the nest of rollers 74 and 76. The cigarettes sodischarged, into the pockets of the cigarette assembly drum 72, aremoved apart by means of a pair of rubber rollers 86 rotating in oppositedirections, so that when the lengths of cigarette rod pass station Cthere will be sufiicient space in between the cigarettes for the plugaligning drum to discharge its double length filter plug.

The cigarette assembly drum 72 rotates continuously in the directionindicated by the arrow, carrying with it the assembly of two spacedcigarette lengths and a double length filter plug located therebetweenin the pockets formed by the rollers 74 and 76.

The guide bar 85 partially extends around and is spaced from theperiphery of the path of rotation of assembly drum 72, and is employedfor the purpose of properly seating (the plugs between the cigarettes Fin their respective pockets. A jam gate 90 is pivotally mounted on asuitable pivot 92 so that if more than one cigarette, filter stub orsome other substance should manage to fall into the pockets formed byrollers 74 and 76 the excess pressure would lift up th jammed gate 90which in turn would actuate a suitable micro switch 94 which would stopthe cigarette making machine.

As the assemblies of double filter plugs and cigarette lengths continuetheir advance, they are gradually brought into abutment by means of astationary guide 95 coacting with guide 97 as shown in FIGURES 5 and 10.The extreme end of the guide 97 is provided with a yieldable springmounted guide shoe 99 which is employed for the purpose of achieving afirm abutment between the cigarett lengths and the double filter plugs.

The abutting cigarette lengths F and double length filter plug 41 arejoined together by means of a uniting band T which is rolled around theassembly.

The uniting band material TM is fed from a reel 96 over pulleys 98 and100 and between feed rollers 102 and 103 and over a paste applyingroller 104 and around another guide roller 106 in the directionindicated by the arrows on to the band conveying suction drum 108. Thefeed rollers 102 and 203 are kept in constant engagement by a tensionspring 105 connected to an arm 107 to which the feed roller 103 ispivoted. Adhesive material is stored in the glue pot 110 and is removedtherefrom by a roller 112 which has excess paste trimmed therefrom bymeans of an adjustable scraper blade 114. The roller 112 engages withthe past applying roller 104 which transfers the glue onto the underside of the uniting band material TM.

In the event the filter tip attachment is stopped for any reason, thearm 116 carrying a band engaging extension 117 is elevated, lifting theuniting band material TM out of engagement with the glue applying roller104 and into engagement with the stationary stop 19 so that the unitingband material will not adhere to th roller 104 and will be preventedfrom being pulled off the reel 96 by the movement of the suction drum108 by reason of the fact that TM is gripped between extension 117 andstop 119.

The arm 116 simultaneously depresses the arm 107 thereby disengaging thefeed roller 103 from the web TM and feed roller 102, thus efiecting astoppage of further feeding of the tip material TM.

The drum 108 has hard insert blocks 118 mounted at spaced intervalstransversely across the periphery of the drum. These inserts 118 are sospaced as to serve as meeting blocks and be opposite to the rotatingcutting 6 knife 120 each time each block 118 passes this point (see FIG.6).

The suction drum 108 has a unique suction hole ar rangement for holdingthe band or tip material in contact with the surface of the suction drum108. It will be noted that the center suction holes 122 hold the corktip material in contact with the drum 108, but there is a slippage thattakes place between the suction drum 108 and the web TM due to the factthat feed drum 102 is driven at a slower peripheral speed than the drum108 and the web slides on the drum 108. This slippage caused by thedifferences in speed requires special provision in the suction holearrangement which will be described hereinafter.

As the material passes beneath the knife, the leading end of the tipmaterial is severed to form a tip T. The latter, due to the higher speedof the tip drum 108, is carried to the tip applying station D and at thesame time provides spacing between the tip T and the leading end of thetip material TM.

The suction drum 108 is supported by a plate 109 which is pivotallysecured on the shaft. of knife 120 and is adjustable by means of anadjusting spindle 111 engaging said plate 109 by means of a swivel stud113. After setting, a suitable lockon screw is turned to hold the plate109 in a secured position. By means of this arrangement it is possibleto move the suction drum towards and away from the assembly drum 72 thusvarying the degree of pressure exerted on the filter tip assembly duringthe uniting band applying operation.

It will be appreciated that while I have shown the suction drumsupporting plate 109 as being pivotally mounted about the shaft of thecutting knife 120, both the cutting knife and the suction drum 108 couldbe otherwise suitably mounted to obtain the same result. The importantfactor to be borne in mind is that the relationship of the cutting knife120 with respect to the suction drum 108 should not be changed so as tointerfere with the proper operation of the uniting band conveying drumand cutting knife.

It will be noted from reference to FIG. 7 that the holes 124 arepositioned adjacent the sides of the suction drum so as to provide afirm grip across the width of the web TM at the time it is beingsevered. A suction cut-off cam 126 is provided for cutting off suctionfrom the center holes 122 as they pass the suction cut-off cam 126thereby avoiding any unnecessary loss of suction.

It will thus be noted that the center holes 122 extend continuouslyaround the center portion of the periphery of the drum 108 while thegroups of side holes 124 are spaced circumferentially around the drum inaccordance with the spacing required by the severed pieces of unitingband material.

After the center holes have passed the cutting station the suctionleading to this portion of the path oftravel of the center holes is cutoff while suction still is allowed to act upon the side rows of holes124 which are covered by the severed tip T. It will be noted that thecenter holes are not all covered by the tip T because of the slippageand spacing of the cut tip T that is effected.

As the cigarette assembly drum 72 continues its rotation the insiderollers 74 have their projecting driving end 75 engage with the belt 128which is driven from the drive pulley 130. The belt 128 passes overidler pulleys 132, 134 and 136. The sect-ion of belt between pulleys 132and 134 is held in contact with the driven end 75 of the inside rollers74 to impart rotary movement thereto.

This has been found to be very desirable when operating at cigarettemachine speed because by the time the cigarette assembly is about tohave a uniting band applied thereto, it will already have begun torotate and there will not be any sudden accelerations of the cigaretteassembly at the moment the uniting band is brought into contact with theassembly. It also has the further advantage that the inside roller 74does not have to be driven by the rubber rings 81 through the cigaretteassembly which would subject the assembly to undesirable stresses anddisrupt the arrangement of the tobacco filler therein.

The side rollers 76 are shorter than the inside roller 74 and alsoshorter than the assembled cigarette length to permit the side guides 95and 97 to cam the components of each assembly together as shown inFIGURE 5. By the time the assembled cigarettes reach station D they areheld in tight abutting relationship by side guides 95 and guide shoe 99.

The severed length of cork tip material carried by the suction drumrotating in the direction indicated by the arrow is brought into contactwith the assembly of tightly held cigarettes. The rubber belts 81 andthe surface of the drum 108 engage the cigarette assembly and incooperation with driven inside roller 74 positively rotate the cigaretteassembly, causing the tip T to be rolled about the assembly, between therollers 74 and 7 6, and the suction drum 108.

The stripping fingers 78 ride in the recesses 79 and beside the rubberbelts 81 to lift the banded cigarette assembly away from the drum 108and confine it in the cradle of rollers 74 and 76.

When the assembly of cigarettes having the cork tip T applied thereonreaches the sealing station E they come in contact with a heater drum138 rotating in the direction indicated by the arrow, which causes theassembly of cigarettes to be rolled within the nest of rollers and thesealing drum 138 to set and dry the adhesive carried on the cork tipmaterial. During this portion of travel the cigarettes are held in theirpockets formed by rollers 74 and 76 by means of a suitable guide plate140 and the inner rollers 74 are positively rotated by means of belt 128to impart to the cigarette assemblies a rotation similar to thatimparted before and during the application of the uniting band.

The heating drum 133, FIG. 1, may be mounted in a manner similar to thatwhich supports the suction drum 108, so that it can be moved towards andaway from the assembly drum 72 so as to readily regulate the pressureexerted on the cigarette, when the machine is running, so as to obtainthe type of seal desired.

When the assembled cigarettes reach the station G they drop into thepockets 142 of the cutting drum 144 which rotates in the directionindicated by the arrow. A confining plate 146 surrounds the upperportion of the periphery of the cutting drum 144 and holds the assembledcigarettes in their respective pockets 142. A side guide or plough 148,FIGS. 11 and 12, is employed to push the cigarettes up against astationary stop 149 so as to bring the center of the double filter tipinto the path of the rotating knife 150.

The knife 150 extends into an annular groove 151, FIG. 1, formed in thecut-ting drum 144 so as to sever each assembly of cigarettes at itscenter into two filter tip cigarettes. When the cigarettes have been sosevered a separating roller 152 engages with one of said severedcigarettes and pushes it axially away from the cutting knife along thegroove 142, so as to provide a space between the severed cigarettesbefore they are discharged onto the catcher belts 154.

Every time the kicker plate 281 is moved forward it carries with it thearm bracket 87 which has on its ends a brush 89 and a finger 91. As thekicker plate completes its circulatory path of travel the brush and thefinger will pass through a pair of adjoining spaced nests of rollers -74and 76 on drum 72, clearing out any cigarettes or plug or tobaccomaterial that might have remained in these nested roller holders.

In FIGURES 17 and 18 I have shown another embodiment of my filter tipapparatus, wherein provision has 'been made for pro-rolling the filterplugs so that they will have a true circular configuration and will beof the correct diameter.

It was found that one of the reasons why a poor joinder was obtainedbetween the cigarette filler and the filter plugs was because the plugsdiffered greatly in their round- 8 ness and in their diameter from oneanother. Since these variations in plug diameter were often due to thecharacteristics of the plug material employed and also to the manner inwhich the plug material is shipped and stored, this problem had to beprovided for to obtain satisfactory filter tip cigarettes.

In the embodiment shown in FIGURE 17, a drum 156 is mounted on arotating horizontal shaft 158 which is driven by suitable means (notshown) from the main drive of the cigarette making machine. The drum 156is partially surrounded by a concave member 160 which is adjustablysupported by a stub 162 held by a suitable bracket formed on the frameof the machine.

The mouthpiece material (which may be of sextuple length or any otherdesirable length) is deposited between the concave member and the rollerat the upper portion of the concave from a suitable source of supply,such as the feed hopper 10 shown in FIGURE 1. The rotating roller can berotated continuously in one direction or oscillated if desired to imparta true cylindrical configuration or shape to the mouthpiece material, sothat it will be of the desired diameter. The spacing between the drum156 and the concave 160 may be adjusted by means of suitable screws 162so as to make the mouthpieces of the diameter desired.

In the embodiment shown in FIGURE 18, I have empolyed a plurality ofrollers 164, 166, 168 and 170, each of which is partially surrounded bysuitable concave members 172, 174, 176 and 178 arranged and spaced fromtheir respective drums in such manner that as the plugs are advancedbetween one drum and concave, they will enter the space between the nextadjoining drum and concave. When a plug is transferred from the space ofone drum and concave to the space between the next drum and concave, thedirection of rolling effected on the plug will be reversed.

The concave members 172, 174 and 176 and 178 may be adjustably spacedfrom their respective drums by means of suitable adjusting studs 180,182, 184 and 186.

When the plugs have been pre-rolled in the foregoing manner they aredischarged into the reservoir 22. From this point on the procedurealready described for cutting, conveying, assembling and uniting thecomponents into a filter tip cigarette are followed.

Some manufacturers prefer to make filter tip cigarettes which havehollow mouthpieces formed at the ends thereof. Heretofore, suchcigarettes were manufactured in machines known as stuffing machine. Theusual stufiing system employs one machine to manufacture hollow, papertubes complete with the desired type of mouthpiece. These complete tubesare then subsequently stuffed with filler tobacco in another machine.Machines of this type were obviously slow in operation and presentedvarious problems with respect to attaining a uniform filling of thetobacco and also in attaining a desirable abutment between the filterplug material and the filler tobacco.

In the present invention, I have disclosed a method and an apparatus forcarrying the method into effect for making hollow mouthpiece cigarettesas shown in FIGURES 13-16. In FIGURE 13 I have shown a seXtuple lengthof hollow mouthpiece and filter tip material which is made up of ahollow cylindrical paper tube 188 wherein filtering material has beeninserted at evenly spaced intervals. At the ends, the sextuple lengthsof cigarette filter are severed across the filter material, so that theends of the sextuple lengths of filter plug material have single lengthfilter plugs 190 and 192.

The two center filter plugs 194 and 196 are of double lengths just likethe spaces 198, 200 and 202. The sextuple lengths of composite hollowmouthpiece filter plug material shown in FIGURE 13 are stacked in thehopper in the same manner as the filter plug material shown in hopper 10of FIGURE 1. These sextuple lengths of hollow mouthpiece filter plugmaterial are fed from the hopper 10 into a suitable reservoir such asthat shown in FIGURE 1.

From there the sextuple lengths of hollow mouthpiece filter plugmaterial are received on the drum 26 which conveys them to a cuttingstation where they are cut transversely on the periphery of the druminto three double length hollow mouthpiece filter plugs 204, 206 and 208as described heretofore and shown in FIGURES 1 and 14. Each doublelength of hollow mouthpiece filter plug material consists of singlelengths of filter plug material mounted in opposite ends of the doublelength tube so that double length of hollow space is located between thespaced single lengths of filter plug material.

The double length filter plugs are moved laterally relative to eachother by plug separating discs 38, 40 and 42 and are arrangedside-by-side in a column by means of the plug aligning drum 56 shown inFIG. 1. These double length hollow mouthpiece filter plugs are thendischarged in the manner described heretofore onto the assembly drum 72.One of these composite double length filter plugs is deposited into eachpocket so as to position filter plug material and hollow mouthpiecematerial between two cut cigarette lengths.

As the assembly is conveyed around by the assembly drurn 72 in themanner heretofore described, a uniting band 210 is affixed to join theabutting cigarette lengths to the ends of the double length compositeplug material in the manner shown in FIG. 15. Because cigarette lengthshave been made by the machine in the manner to which the manufacturer isaccustomed on his conventional cigarette making machine, the severedends of the filter tip material are square and the abutting filter tipmaterial which is similarly square will form a firm abutment betweenboth elements so that when a uniting band is added there will be a firmabutment between the cigarette filler and the hollow mouthpiece filterplug.

The united assembly is then carried to the cutting drum 144 where thedouble length hollow mouthpiece filter plug is severed across itscenter, making two hollow mouthpiece filter plug cigarettes of the typeshown in FIG. 16.

When cigarettes are discharged from the cutting drum, as shown in FIG.12, the filter plugs of the severed cigarette are facing each other. Itis desirable that all the filter plug cigarettes have their filter plugsface in the same direction to facilitate packaging. To avoid thenecessity of having an operator turn one row of cigarettes end for end,I have provided a device shown in FIGS. 19 and 20 which automaticallyturns the cigarettes end for end. This device is mounted adjacent to thecutting drum shown in FIG. 19 and comprises a disk 212 which rotates inthe direction of the arrow as shown in FIGS. 19 and 20. The disc has apair of spaced stationary walls 214 and 216, shown in FIG. 20, toconfine cigarettes 218 and 220 resting on the disk to travel around withthe disk between the Walls 214 and 216. Upper braces 222 and 224 areprovided for maintaining said guide walls at a fixed rel-ationship toeach other.

When the severed cigarettes reach the rotating rubber roller 226 afterpassing under the cutting knife 228', they are discharged in thedirection indicated by the arrow on to the disk 212. After thecigarettes have been conveyed around the circular path of travel by thedisk 212 they are discharged onto the collecting belt 229 as shown inFIG. 20, and all of the cigarettes have their filter ends facing in thesame direction.

While I have shown the disc 212 arranged at an incline, if desired thisdisc could be arranged horizontally to allow the cigarettes to fall orslide down a chute onto the collecting tape 229.

Another embodiment of a plug feeding apparatus has been disclosed inFIG. 21. This embodiment is particularly desirable at high speeds if itis found that plugs tend to bridge and avoid falling into the pockets ofa receiving drum. In the structure shown in FIG. 21 the sextuple filterlengths are placed in a suitable hopper 230 which is somewhat similar tothe hopper shown in FIG. 1 and the components that obviously correspondto each other are not specifically identified in the present embodimentsince reference can be made to FIGURE 1 for a more detailed descriptionof these components.

The metering agitator flap 232 is mounted on a shaft 233 which isoscillated by means of a cam lever 235, carrying on its free end a camroll-er 237. The cam roller 237 engages with a suitable cam 239 mountedon the continuously rotating shaft 241 to which is also secured therefuser 254.

The adjustable flap 232 meters the desirable amount of filters from thebulk supply hopper 230 while the vibrating bottom plate 234 controls theflow of the metered quantity of :sextuple filter lengths and conveysthem to the counter rotating rollers 236 and 238.

The bottom vibrating plate 234 extends up to the roller 236. Each of therollers 236 and 238 are deeply grooved and timed, with a tooth on oneopposite to the groove on the other roller, as shown in FIG. 21. Theserollers 236 and 238 rotate in opposite directions at the same speed sothat the tooth relationship is maintained at all times, the objectivebeing to provide a gap through which only one filter may pass at a time,which gap rapidly oscillates in a horizontal plane in order tofacilitate the passage of the filters through the gap.

The oscillating flap 232 is employed to maintain a suitable head ofsextuple length filters over the rollers 236 and 238 at all timesWithout permitting the weight of the bulk of the filters in hopper 230to press on the region where the filters are separated into single file.It has been found in the arrangements just described that the sextuplelength filters never tend to bridge over the rollers 236 and 238 but aresuificien-tly agitated to circulate freely and flow into single fileWithout interruption.

Once the sextuple length filters pass between the rollers 236 and 238they are held in the single file formation by the guides 240 and 242which also act as a reservoir so that even if the flow is temporarilyinterrupted filters are available to fall into the flutes 244 of thedrum 246 as required. The drum 246 is made in three parts as shown inFIG. 21 to allow the two circular knives 256 and 258 to sever eachsextuple length filter plug material into three equal double lengths offilter material while being moved forwardly in the grooves 244. Becauseof this, the grooves 244 must support the filtersfor at least half oftheir circumference in order that the filter plug not be flattened bythe stress imposed when undergoing cutting by the knives 256 and 258.This consequently imposes limitations on the shape of the groove and thelead into it.

It has been found that the shape of the groove as shown in FIG. 21satisfactorily accomplishes this objective. It will be noted that theangle of the lead 248 into the groove 244 is related to the rate atwhich the plugs fall so that the angular lead 248 is so shaped as toobtain the maximum velocity of the filters towards the center of thedrum 246 at the point where the angular lead 248 joins the half roundgroove 244 so that the filters move continuously with a constantacceleration toward the center of the drum 246 from the beginning of thelead 248 until they are delivered.

It will also be noted that the shape of the channel formed by the guides240 and 242 is such that the falling plugs have a component of movementin the direction of the moving drum 246. The shape of the curvature ofthe lower extremity 250 of guide 240 is also of considerable importance.This must be so shaped as to efficiently retain the filters while theplain portion 252 of the drum 246 is passing under the row of filtersand yet as soon as the filters start to move towards the center of thedrum 246 by sliding down the angular lead 248, the curved end 250 ofguide 240 must exert a component force on the filter towards the centerof the drum 246 by reason of tangential force applied by the friction of1 l. the moving drum 246 and so aid accelerating the filter towards thebottom of the groove 244.

The refuser 254 prevents jamming of the mechanism by any filter that isdisplaced and is not properly seated in the groove 244. It is found thatin this event the surplus or damaged plug is refused by the roller 254where it can be removed manually, thereby permitting the mechanism tocontinue running without allowing the surplus filter to be dragged intothe mechanism and to cause trouble.

To simplify the illustration of the foregoing invention I have omittedshowing the various drives for the component parts since thesecomponents can be driven in 'synchronism with each other, and with thecigarette machine to which my attachment is secured, in any suitablemanner such as by gears or by sprockets and sprocket chains. For furtherinformation with respect to the subject matter not claimed herein,reference should be made to my copending application S.N. 509,293, nowPatent 3,036,581, of which this is a divisional.

In the foregoing disclosure it will be understood that While referencehas been made to filter plugs, this invention is also equally adaptablefor use with other cylindrical mouthpieces that may not necessarily haveany filtering action.

The invention hereinabove described may be varied in construction withinthe scope of the claims, for the particular device selected toillustrate the invention is but one of many possible embodiments of thesame. The invention, therefore, is not to be restricted to the precisedetails of the structure shown and described.

What is claimed is:

1. Apparatus for feeding and cutting lengths of filter tips, comprisinga hopper for storing a bulk supply of multiple length filter tips, adevice for feeding said tips at regular intervals from said hopper, aconveyor having spaced receptacles, said conveyor being driven in timedrelationship to said device and being positioned and arranged to receivetips therefrom, mechanism along said conveyor to coact with the ends ofsaid multiple length tips to align said tips on said conveyor, laterallyspaced cutting means mounted along said conveyor to sever said tips intoa predetermined number of equal lengths, and delivery means comprising anumber of continuous delivery conveyors equal in number to saidpredetermined number, said delivery conveyors having receptacles equallyspaced therealong to receive said severed lengths, said deliveryconveyors being positioned and arranged to receive said lengths fromsaid conveyor at a transfer position, said delivery conveyors moving atdifferent speeds to move said receptacles out of alignment as they movefrom alignment at said transfer position.

2. Apparatus for feeding and cutting lengths of filter tips, comprisinga hopper for storing a bulk supply of multiple length filter tips, adevice for feeding said tips at regular intervals from said hopper, aconveyor having spaced receptacles, said conveyor being driven in timedrelationship to said device and being positioned and arranged to receivetips therefrom, mechanism along said conveyor to coact with the ends ofsaid multiple length tips to align said tips on said conveyor, laterallyspaced cutting means mounted along said conveyor to sever said tips intoa predetermined number of equal lengths, and delivery means comprising anumber of plug separating drums equal in number to said predeterminednumber, said plug separating drums having receptacles equally spacedtherealong to receive said severed lengths, said plug separating drumsbeing positioned and arranged to receive said lengths from said conveyorat a transfer position, said plug separating drums moving at differentspeeds to move said receptacles out of alignment as they move fromalignment at said transfer position.

3. Apparatus according to claim 2, wherein said mech anism is providedwith adjustable stops and guide means for varying the relative positionof the'filter tip lengths with relation to said cutting means.

4. Apparatus for feeding and cutting lengths of filter tips, comprisinga hopper for storing a bulk supply of multiple length filter tips, adevice for feeding said tips at regular intervals from said hopper, aconveyor having spaced receptacles, said conveyor being driven in timedrelationship to said device and being positioned and arranged to receivetips therefrom, mechanism along said conveyor to coact with the ends ofsaid multiple length tips to align said tips on said conveyor, laterallyspaced cutting means mounted along said conveyor to sever said tips intoa predetermined number of equal lengths, and delivery means comprising anumber of continuous delivery conveyors equal in number to saidpredetermined number, said delivery conveyors having receptacles equallyspaced therealong to receive said severed lengths, said deliveryconveyors being positioned and arranged to receive said lengths fromsaid conveyor at a transfer position, said delivery conveyors moving atdifferent speeds to move said receptacles out of alignment as they movefrom alignment at said transfer position, and means coacting with saiddelivery conveyors to move said severed lengths to form a single columnof lengths arranged sideby-side for delivery to an assembly drum.

5. Apparatus according to claim 4, wherein said means for forming asingle column of lengths comprises a plug aligning drum and a pair ofspaced plug aligning cams cooperating with said drum.

6. Apparatus for feeding and cutting lengths of filter tips, comprisinga hopper for storing a bulk supply of multiple length filter tips, adevice for feeding said tips from said hopper, a conveyor having spacedreceptacles, said conveyor being positioned and arranged to receive tipstherefrom, mechanism along said conveyor to coact with the ends of saidmultiple length tips to align said tips on said conveyor, laterallyspaced cutting means mounted along said conveyor to sever said tips intoa predetermined number of equal length, and delivery means comprising anumber of continuous delivery conveyors equal in number to saidpredetermined number, said delivery conveyors having receptacles equallyspaced therealong to receive said severed lengths, said deliveryconveyors being positioned and arranged to receive said lengths fromsaid conveyor at a transfer position, said delivery conveyors moving atdifferent speeds to move said receptacles out of alignment as they movefrom alignment at said transfer positron.

7. Apparatus for feeding and cutting lengths of filter tips, comprisinga hopper for storing a bulk supply of multiple length filter tips, adevice for feeding said tips from said hopper, a conveyor having spacedreceptacles, said conveyor being positioned and arranged to receive tipstherefrom, mechanism along said conveyor to coact with the ends of saidmultiple length tips to align said tips on said conveyor, laterallyspaced cutting means mounted along said conveyor to sever said tips intoa predetermined number of equal lengths, and delivery means comprising anumber of plug separating drums equal in number to said predeterminednumber, said plug separatmg drums having receptacles equally spacedtherealong to receive said severed lengths, said plug separating drumsbeing positioned and arranged to receive said lengths from said conveyorat a transfer position, said plug separatmg drums moving at differentspeeds to move said receptacles out of alignment as they move fromalignment at said transfer position.

8. Apparatus according to claim 7, wherein said mechanlsm is providedwith adjustable stops and guide means for varying the relative positionof the filter tip lengths with relation to said cutting means.

9. Apparatus for feeding and cutting lengths of filter tips, comprisinga hopper for storing a bulk supply of multiple length filter tips, adevice for feeding said tips from said hopper, a conveyor having spacedreceptacles, said conveyor being positioned and arranged to receive tipstherefrom, mechanism along said conveyor to coact with the ends of saidmultiple length tips to align said tips on said conveyor, laterallyspaced cutting means mounted along said conveyor to sever said tips intoa predetermined number of equal lengths, and delivery means comprising anumber of continuous delivery conveyors equal in number to saidpredetermined number, said delivery conveyors having receptacles equallyspaced therealong to receive said severed lengths, said deliveryconveyors being positioned and arranged to receive said lengths fromsaid conveyor at a transfer position, said delivery conveyors moving atdifferent speed to move said receptacles out of alignment as they movefrom alignment at said transfer position, and means coacti'ng with saiddelivery conveyors to move said severed lengths to form a single columnof lengths arranged side-by-side for delivery to an assembly drum.

10. Apparatus according to claim 9, wherein said means for forming asingle column of lengths comprises a plug aligning drum and a pair ofspaced plug aligning cams cooperating with said drum.

No references cited.

WILLIAM S. LAWSON, Primary Examiner.

1. APPARATUS FOR FEEDING AND CUTTING LENGTHS OF FILTER TIPS, COMPRISINGA HOPPER FOR STORING A BULK SUPPLY OF MULTIPLE LENGTH FILTER TIPS, ADEVICE FOR FEEDING SAID TIPS AT REGULAR INTERVALS FROM SAID HOPPER, ACONVEYOR HAVING SPACED RECEPTACLES, SAID CONVEYOR BEING DRIVEN IN TIMEDRELATIONSHIP TO SAID DEVICE AND BEING POSITIONED AND ARRANGED TO RECEIVETIPS THEREFROM, MECHANISM ALONG SAID CONVEYOR TO COACT WITH THE ENDS OFSAID MULTIPLE LENGTH TIPS TO ALIGN SAID TIPS ON SAID CONVEYOR, LATERALLYSPACED CUTTING MEANS MOUNTED ALONG SAID COVEYOR TO SEVER SAID TIPS INTOA PREDETERMINED NUMBER OF EQUAL LENGTHS, AND DELIVERY MEANS COMPRISING ANUMBER OF CONTINUOUS DELIVERY CONVEYORS EQUAL IN NUMBER TO SAIDPREDETERMINED NUMBER, SAID DELIVERY CONVEYORS HAVING RECEPTACLES EQUAL-